Netflix has an off and on again relationship with the Super Bowl, dubbed as the biggest sporting event of the year in the United States. It’s a time when companies spend a fortune for a small bit of time to sell their product or service. So let’s go back and look at all of Netflix’s entries since 2014.
While this list isn’t extensive, given that Netflix hasn’t always featured at the Super Bowl (it could be something to do with the fact a 30-second spot costs upwards of 7 million in 2023) there has been plenty of occasions where Netflix has teamed up with another company, done a general platform ad, a showcase of its upcoming titles or zeroing in on a specific title.
Full List of Netflix Super Bowl Ads Over The Years
2014 – General Platform Ad
Back in 2014, just a year after it got into the content game itself, Netflix ads were primarily used to promote its slate of licensed content. In the 30-second spot, they advertise many titles that have long departed Netflix, including Sons of Anarchy, Hugo, Mission Impossible, Thor, Transformers, True Grit, The Walking Dead and The Office.
2015-2016 – No ads
2017 – Stranger Things 2
After the success of Stranger Things season 1, massive anticipation was growing for Stranger Things season 2.
The 30-second spot gave us some first glimpses of what we would eventually see in October later in the year.
We should also mention that Super Bowl LI was heavily featured in the documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, released in September of 2017. It followed Lady Gaga’s preparations to make the half-time performance happen.
2018 – Cloverfield: Paradox
This ad, undoubtedly, was Netflix’s best and most exciting Super Bowl ad to date.
The reason we say that is because of how it went down. The Cloverfield Paradox was a movie that was rumored to be in development for a while. Still, it wasn’t until the night of the Super Bowl that this trailer dropped, revealing it was not only coming to Netflix but would be available within the next few hours.
Although The Cloverfield Paradox turned out to be slammed by critics, the nature of this ad was certainly exciting and completely unexpected.
2019 – Our Planet: One Team
2019’s Super Bowl ad from Netflix could potentially be the last the streamer ever puts out.
This year’s spot was remarkably smaller than the years previous, opting to highlight Netflix’s first real foray into the nature documentary space with David Attenborough’s Our Planet.
2020-2021 – No Ad
Netflix didn’t see a major Super Bowl ad from Netflix which will continue into 2021. There have been no official reasons given and it wasn’t because Netflix ads are banned (which is the case on Disney-owned networks).
2022 – Netflix Movie Ad
Despite plenty of rumors in 2022 surrounding a potential Stranger Things season 4 trailer, the main trailer to air early in the game was advertising its 2022 movie slate which was revealed at the start of February 2022.
The trailer is recut of that ad with a particular emphasis at the end of it on the March 2022 release of The Adam Project starring Ryan Reynolds.
The recut trailer also featured brief glimpses of the following movies:
- Knives Out 2
- Day Shift
- The Mother
- Enola Holmes 2
- The Gray Man
- Slumberland
- You People
- Me Time
- The School for Good and Evil
2023 – General Motors + Netflix
Reteaming with Will Ferrell again, General Motors also teamed up with Netflix in 2023 with two ad spots.
The ad, promoting GM’s electric car range, uses assets from two major Netflix properties including Squid Game and Army of the Dead. In addition to the ads, the announcement came with a commitment from Netflix. Their press release states:
“Netflix is joining the movement and will increase the presence of EVs in Netflix-produced shows and films, where relevant, while also taking steps to enable more sustainable productions.
As a result of the partnership, Netflix is supporting and educating creators, helping them to better understand how EVs can complement and enhance their stories. Over the course of the next year, inspired by this partnership, GM EVs will be seen in select Netflix shows and films, including Love is Blind, Queer Eye and Unstable, which will feature the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, GMC HUMMER EV Pickup and Cadillac LYRIQ respectively.”
What was your favorite Netflix Super Bowl ad? Let us know in the comments.